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Close-up of a sliced blueberry cake showing tender crumb and juicy berries under a crackly turbinado sugar top

Easy Blueberry Cake With Sour Cream and a Crackly Sugar Top

A tender sour cream blueberry cake with fresh berries in every bite and a crackly turbinado sugar top. It bakes in one 9-inch springform pan and stays moist for 3 to 4 days.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Cooling Time 50 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 10 slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 340

Ingredients
  

For the Cake
  • 2 cups 240 g all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon if using table salt
  • 1/2 cup 113 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup 200 g granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup 230 g full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup 60 ml whole milk, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons alcohol-free vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest from 1 large lemon
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 cups about 10 ounces fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour for tossing the berries
For the Topping
  • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Equipment

  • 9-inch springform pan
  • Stand mixer or hand mixer
  • Digital kitchen scal
  • Wire cooling rack
  • Instant-read thermometer

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the center. Grease a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment, and grease the parchment.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until the color is even. Toss the dried berries with 1 tablespoon of flour. Zest and juice the lemon.
  3. Rub the zest into the sugar, then beat it with the softened butter on medium speed for 3 minutes, until pale yellow and fluffy like thick frosting.
  4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, 30 seconds after each. Stir in the vanilla and lemon juice until the batter is smooth and glossy.
  5. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix on low until the last streak of flour disappears, then stop.
  6. Spread 1 cup of the plain batter across the bottom of the pan. Fold the floured berries into the rest with 8 to 10 strokes, until a few purple streaks show, then spoon it over the plain layer.
  7. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar until the surface glitters.
  8. Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the center rack at 350°F for 55 minutes, checking at 50. The top should be deep golden brown and spring back when pressed, with the center at 205°F to 210°F. If the sugar darkens past golden before 35 minutes, tent loosely with foil.
  9. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edge and release the ring. Cool 30 more minutes, until the sides feel barely warm, before slicing.

Notes

Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days, or freeze wrapped slices for up to 3 months.
Frozen blueberries go in straight from the freezer, unthawed. The bake may run about 5 minutes longer, so trust the 205°F to 210°F reading.
Use full-fat sour cream at room temperature. Plain whole milk Greek yogurt works as a swap.